GM Bruce Allen said the Redskins have begun contract talks with free agent OLB Brian Orakpo.The Redskins will stick with the 3-4 in the Jay Gruden era, and there aren't many better edge players for the scheme than Orakpo. He's piled up 39.5 sacks in 64 career games, and is coming off a career year that saw Orakpo grade out as a top-four 3-4 OLB according to PFF. Allen has also opened talks with ILB Perry Riley and DB DeAngelo Hall, but re-signing 27-year-old Orakpo is the top priority. Last year's top free agent outside linebacker, Paul Kruger, landed a five-year, $41 million deal with the Browns.Related: Perry Riley, DeAngelo Hall

Obviously a lot of chatter out there about Orakpo now that teams can decide to use the franchise tag.

Personally I think the discussion of whether or not to re-sign/tag Rak is pretty well moot. Haz obviously wants him back. I also think its obvious that not signing him would mean a downgrade at the position which isn't something our defense can really afford.

I'd still rather see the team put together a nice deal for him rather than use the tag. I was wondering if any of you cap geeks can comment on the advantages/disadvantages of one v. the other?

Also: Snyder has been willing to pay a lot of upfront signing bonus money in the past. Does that money make a long term deal for Orakpo more likely and is it any better with regards to the cap?

Thanks, smart guys.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax"We’re winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field." - Bruce Allen

Louis Riddick: ....There’s not a number for how I would value him. It’s going to be tricky. Would I want to keep him? Yes. Would I want to extend above and beyond and get him into the nose-bleed area for guaranteed money in the first three years? No, I would not. ... I’d be very prepared to let him walk. That being said, there aren’t a lot of good pass-rushers available in free agency and there aren’t a lot of guys who will win one-on-ones early in their career in the draft so that will work in his favor.

Matt Williamson: That defense needs everything, it really does. He’s their best player on defense, they have a lot of cap room, they can’t let him go. He’s one of the few free agents that you have to give the big money to. If that means franchising him, I think he’s worth it. He’s an all-around player. He’s their best pass-rusher, probably one of the best 10 pass-rushers in the league in his prime and he recovered from his injury. I thought he had a good year. He was a constant pressure guy. He’s a quick-twitch athlete who can get low and still be powerful. He explodes off the ball and he’s a high-motor guy. I don’t think he’ll be elite. He won’t be Dwight Freeney in his prime, and if you looked at his strengths and weaknesses as a pass-rusher, he’s not extreme in any of them but he’s above average in many. Freeney was so low and explosive off the snap, you always remember those things with him. Orakpo doesn’t have one trait that you say, ‘Wow, I’ve got to stop that.’

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax"We’re winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field." - Bruce Allen

Werder reports that the Redskins are prepared to use the tag on Orakpo Monday if they are unable to agree on a long-term contract by the deadline. Doing so would all but ensure Orakpo’s return since other teams would have to fork over two first-round picks to sign him away and would also buy more time to reach agreement on a multi-year deal that would be a better fit in the overall salary structure in Washington.

Tough decision for the team. I think there are valid arguments for and against tagging Orakpo.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax"We’re winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field." - Bruce Allen

If they tag him today, are they permitted to work out a long term deal, say prior to or during the free agency period, that replaces the tag designation on the books? In other words, if they reach a long term deal after tagging him, does the long term deal's 2014 cap hit replace the $11.5M cap hit from the tag?

I know he got a pretty good zip on the ball. He has a quick release. . . once I seen a coupla' throws, I was just like 'Yeah, he's that dude.'"

emoses14 wrote:If they tag him today, are they permitted to work out a long term deal, say prior to or during the free agency period, that replaces the tag designation on the books? In other words, if they reach a long term deal after tagging him, does the long term deal's 2014 cap hit replace the $11.5M cap hit from the tag?

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think so.

It seems to me if the Skins tag him, it would be in Rak's best interests to still try to get a long term deal done, wouldn't it? The $11m is awesome, but if he gets injured this year or doesn't live up to that money, its a risk for him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax"We’re winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field." - Bruce Allen

emoses14 wrote:If they tag him today, are they permitted to work out a long term deal, say prior to or during the free agency period, that replaces the tag designation on the books? In other words, if they reach a long term deal after tagging him, does the long term deal's 2014 cap hit replace the $11.5M cap hit from the tag?

Here is the answer on PFT btw:

The Redskins will have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with Orakpo.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax"We’re winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field." - Bruce Allen

DarthMonk wrote:Different players have different levels of commitment to excellence.

If Haynesworth was a zero and Art Monk was a 10, what is Rak?

This money will make him more of whatever he is now.

What is he?

Based on known information about him. The positive is that he's been considered a workout beast at least since his UT days, so I don't think he lacks work ethic or a commitment to the gym. But, I have heard him say in an interview something like "You won't see me doing any spin moves or anything like that. I just do what I do." That raised an eyebrow for me because my personal view of him is that he only has a couple of moves. He bull rushes, dips shoulder to the outside, or winds up stuck on a block. In my opinion, if he were more committed to developing his arsenal of moves/techniques, he'd take the leap to elite. But, if he thinks he can just over power people or run by them, he'll be a 10 sack guy which is good but not near great. The elite guys can beat you with both power and finesse. He hasn't done that.

But, I don't think he's the kind of player that will be changed by the money if that's what you mean. He'll still be a gym rat. I just think he needs to work on his weaknesses or else he's probably at his ceiling. At his age, he's not going to get much stronger or faster...he's got to find other ways to beat people.

Hell, even Michael Jordan developed a fadeaway jumper that was unstoppable later in his career. What makes Rak think he's any different.

DarthMonk wrote:Different players have different levels of commitment to excellence.

If Haynesworth was a zero and Art Monk was a 10, what is Rak?

This money will make him more of whatever he is now.

What is he?

IMO 8Because his health history. I do think he would be better in a DE position, since he is such a good rusher. But he is quick enough to go LB. Being able to be flexible enough to play both is a GREAT treat.

Not the best value for our money, but I much prefer a franchise tag to a 5-year megadeal. I was hoping we could replace him with Jackson + someone else, but that may have been wishful thinking.

Welcome back, Rak.

"I’m never under the assumption that you draft for need. You draft the best available football player on the board. ... Because, in the long run, they are the ones who will help you win the most games." - Scot McCloughan